New Study Examines How Marijuana Legalization Shapes College Basketball And Football Recruiting

A recent study conducted by researchers at Georgia College & State University and Kennesaw State University looked at the relationship between marijuana legalization and recruitment outcomes in college sports, specifically in the realms of basketball and football.

Published in the Journal of Sports Economics and spanning from 2003 to 2019, the study utilized a difference-in-difference estimation method to scrutinize recruiting data, reported Marijuana Moment.

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Basketball Vs. Football: The Study

"We show that legalization correlates with recruiting outcomes in NCAA [National Collegiate Athletic Association] D1 sports," said researchers, highlighting the direct correlation between collegiate athletics, revenues, and the potential impact on a university's overall applications.

• For college basketball teams in states with legal cannabis, the study revealed a substantial positive impact on recruiting. On average, these teams witnessed an impressive 3.7-slot improvement in recruiting rankings. The study drew a parallel, indicating that living in a state with legal recreational marijuana exerts an influence on recruiting equivalent to the impact of having a new coach - 50 percent as potent.
• In contrast, football teams in states where cannabis is not legal faced a recruiting challenge. The study showed that colleges in these states observed a decline in recruitment rankings, averaging 2.9 slots worse than institutions in states where recreational marijuana remains illegal.

Exploring NBA And NFL Influences

While the findings are intriguing, authors cautioned against definitive explanations, given the absence of survey data from individual athletes. One hypothesis explores the potential influence of national league policies, focusing on the National Football League (NFL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA).

The study suggested that the NBA's more lenient stance on marijuana might make NBA hopefuls more open to using the substance in college, while future NFL players may have a greater incentive to avoid cannabis.

See Also: NBA Drops Cannabis Testing For Players, Can The NFL Be Far Behind?

The research also acknowledged the evolving marijuana policies of these leagues, citing the NBA's removal of marijuana from its list of banned substances and the NFL's initiation of a new drug policy in April 2021, which excludes cannabis testing during the off-season.
In the same year, the NFL Players Association and the league collaborated to explore the potential use of cannabis by players for pain relief. Additionally, the NHL Alumni Association joined forces with Canopy Growth Corp. CGC to investigate the effectiveness of cannabinoids in treating post-concussion neurological disorders.

Former NFL stars Jim McMahon, Kyle Turley and Eben Britton, who run the company, Revenant, have often shared how cannabis has improved their quality of life. Meanwhile, numerous NBA players, including Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Allen Iverson, Kevin Durant, Al Harrington and Isiah Thomas and others have been open about their cannabis use and advocated for its legalization for years.

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Image by Tolga Ahmetler On Unsplash